OREANDA-NEWS. Oilmen of Kazakhstan celebrated an important date - the 20th anniversary of creation of a specialized company KazakhstanCaspianShelf (KSP) whose sole purpose was to launch shelf exploration in Kazakhstan.

Precisely on that date 20 years ago the government had passed a resolution on the start of geophysical exploration of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea for the period of 1993-97, making it the first country among the former Soviet states to launch such a programme.

At the origins of offshore development in Kazakhstan were Baltabek Kuandykov, whom the president appointed as first president of KSP and NCOC Deputy Managing Director Z.Marabayev who was appointed his deputy. Unfortunately the latter could not attend but sent a congratulatory address.

Baltabek Kuandykov recalled that KSP was later replaced with an international consortium consisting of Eni, BG Group, BP/Statoil, Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Total S.A., and the Kazakh government. The consortium lasted for 4 years up until 1997 when the seismic exploration of the Caspian Sea was undertaken.

In November 1997 the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCSPSA) was signed and in 1998 an international consortium, the Offshore Kazakhstan International Consortium was formed to explore and produce hydrocarbons within the 5,600 square kilometer NCSPSA area. And the biggest accomplishment was the opening in 2000 of the giant Kashagan field.